Sha’Carri Richardson has made her Olympics debut in Paris this weekend, putting up stellar performances both Friday and Saturday to qualify for the women’s 100m final on Saturday.
While fans are getting the chance to see Richardson at the Olympic level for the first time, the 24-year-old has been one of the biggest names in Track & Field for several years.
After initially qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, she was later disqualified after she tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive component in cannabis.
She returned to the track at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, finishing ninth. She returned to Olympic form nearly two years later, officially kicking off her revenge tour.
She won the 100m at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in a time of 10.82 seconds. She then claimed the title of fastest woman in the world with her 100m win at the 2023 World Athletic Championships in Budapest. She went on to kick off the Olympic year with a win at the Prefontaine Classic in a time of 10.83 seconds.
“I’m better, I’m stronger and I’m wiser,” Richardson told NBC in an interview last month. “I just knew that I was in a different position that I’ve never been in my entire life.”